


One Hell of a Week

by lantia4ever



Series: Of Overqualified Hands & Pi Figures (IronStrange) [6]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Again, BAMF Pepper Potts, Caring Stephen, Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Fluff, Homecoming events - mentioned, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Stephen becomes an Avenger, Stephen in doctor mode, Supremefamily, Worried Tony Stark, caring Tony, magically exhauseted Stephen, set during Spider-man Homecoming, slowest burn of all the burns, sprinkle of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 07:12:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15213893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lantia4ever/pseuds/lantia4ever
Summary: Peter is hurt, Tony is worried and Stephen somehow manages to deal with both of them without surrendering to his exhaustion and falling asleep. Kinda.Looks like everyone is having a bad week - and that's why weekends exist. To make it all better again.





	One Hell of a Week

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! ^^ Hope you're having a great summer Sunday! <3
> 
> Here's the promised continuation of the series and as I've mentioned before - it's Homecoming time ^^ An opportunity for a lot of Supremefamily drama :3 And love <3 And also - Pepper :D
> 
> Enjoy! \o/

One chilly October evening, him and Wong return from an exhausting two-day trip in Scotland, collapsing into the sofa. Good news is that the magically enhanced artifact that haunted a castle there is no longer going to be a problem. Bad news is that both of them are not only physically exhausted but also magically. Turns out sealing centuries old magic is quite taxing.

The last time he felt so tired was…years ago at the ER. During and after that alien attack.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m taking a week off,” he mumbles, resting his head against the back of the sofa and closes his eyes.

“Good luck with that. Want to bet how soon a crisis comes up?”

“Shut up and enjoy the rest, you pessimist,” Stephen groans and uses the last ounces of magic he has to portal himself to bed and falls asleep immediately, the Cloak wrapping around him like a blanket.

 

 

He’s abruptly woken up by a not so gentle slap and flails, glaring at the Cloak hovering over him.

“What?!”

He throws something small and _loud_ at his chest, pointing at it accusingly. The phone. Didn’t he turn that damn thing off before going to bed?!

Stephen grabs the annoyingly ringing thing and answers it, still half asleep. “H’llo?”

“ _Stephen? Shit…I woke you up, didn’t I_?!”

“ _It’s 1 AM, Tony. What do you think_?” he hears Happy say.

“ _Right. Sorry, I’m…at the end of my wits. I need a doctor in here_ ,” Tony explains, desperation loud and clear in his voice.

He’s awake within a second, sitting up on the bed.

“ _We don’t, Mr. Stark! I told you I’m fine!_ ” Peter whines from somewhere near Tony.

“What happened?” he rubs his eyes, letting the Cloak settle on his shoulders again.

“ _It’s…can you just portal to the infirmary? Please_?” the engineer adds and that word alone makes Stephen gather all his rested energy to get up and open a portal to the familiar setting of the Compound’s infirmary.

Happy’s there in his usual black suit, standing by the bed next to Tony, who’s wearing pajama pants and the ‘The truth is, I am Stank’ tee that Rhodey had made for him as a joke.

And then there’s Peter, sitting on the bed cross-legged with the biggest pout Stephen’s ever seen him with. He has his old Spiderman suit on, torn and bloodied, face ridden with cuts and bruises.

Who _dared_ to do that to the kid’s face?!

He clenches his fingers into fists, letting the portal close and walking to the other side of the bed. “Who did that to you?!” he glares at the colorful marks on the boy’s cheeks.

Peter facepalms, swatting his investigative hand away. “A bad guy…look it’s nothing, Doctor Strange! Just a few scratches and they’re already healing! I told Mr. Stark I’m okay, I don’t need a - ”

“I’ll be the judge of that, young man!” he interrupts him, hands gently grabbing onto his pouty face. He inspects the damage and true to Peter’s words it’s nothing serious. A couple band-aids and an icepack should do the trick…unless he’s concussed. “FRIDAY? A full-body scan, please?”

Peter groans but lets Stephen continue his examination.

“Where’s the bad guy?” he glances up at the two worried man opposite of him.

“In jail,” Happy says, a small grin twisting his lips. “You should see _his_ face.”

Tony rolls his eyes, smacking the driver’s bicep with a glare. “Not funny. That guy could have killed him! You could have died!” he yells at Peter.

“But he was stealing your tech, Mister Stark!”

“FUCK my tech!”

“That’s a hundred bucks to the swearing jar right there,” Happy holds up a finger only for it to get smacked away by the fuming engineer.

“And fuck the swearing jar! Can the two of you take this seriously for one damn second?!”

Happy crosses his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow at him. “Remember the last time your tech fell into the wrong hands? The kid saved the day _and_ your tech - ”

“I’m not saying he didn’t!”

“ – so stop pestering him about it - ”

“I’m not!”

“ – and let the doc work his magic in peace.”

Tony deflates, eyes darting to the floor with almost the same exact pout Peter was wearing moments ago.

 _Like father like son_ , Stephen muses, studying the real-time scan FRIDAY provided for him. It reveals a lot more than is visible on the surface but at the same time it’s just as Peter said – already healing. The kid’s physiology is off the fucking charts! Teenager? More like a Terminator.

He waves the hologram away and sighs. “He’ll be fine by morning. Get him some food and let him sleep.”

“But…I have to go home! Aunt May is going to - ”

“I’ll call May,” Tony shakes his head, already fishing for his phone. “Tell her that…I need you for some emergency project or something. Besides, it’s Homecoming night, right? She won’t freak out too much. The same can’t be said about me though!”

“But - ”

“No more buts, Peter!” Tony cuts him off, walking toward the door.

“She thinks I don’t have the internship anymore because…well…I…”

Tony comes to a halt, shoulders falling. “I’ll deal with May,” he half-turns around, face gone soft. “You, bring him some burgers, like…thirty of them at least and make sure he eats them,” he squints at Happy and glances at Stephen before walking out. “And _you_ meet me outside when you’re done.”

“Someone’s bossy tonight,” he chuckles, rummaging through the drawers nearby for some band-aids.

“I’ll be back in ten. You better still be here or I’ll hunt you down,” Happy threatens and also leaves, presumably to get those burgers.

Peter visibly sags into the pillows stacked behind him, eyes growing sad. Devastated. It’s not a good look on him.

He might have only known the kid for a few months, but he doesn’t remember a single instance of them meeting where Peter would be anything other than hyperactive, loud and excited.

“Homecoming, huh?” he breaks the silence, fumbling with the band-aids. He’s too tired for this. “Did you ditch your date to go crime-fighting?”

If anything, his face darkens even further. “Yep. I ditched my date to go fight her tech-stealing criminal father.”

“Wow. Okay. That’s…complicated. Dating was so much simpler when I was in high school. Then again, my only extracurricular activities were AP biology classes, music and dancing. Crime-fighting? Not so much. ”

“Dancing?” Peter looks up.

“Sure. Us eighties kids had to learn some sick moves if we were planning to impress. We weren’t just bobbing our heads to _dubstep_ ,” he spits in disgust, smirking. “Here, let me clean those,” he moves in with the disinfectant, tilting Peter’s face toward him.

“Are you okay?” the kid frowns at him.

“Hm? Sure, why?”

“Your hands are shaking,” he explains innocently.

Damn his hands. “I’m just tired. Spent a lot of magic in the past few days so I’m all kinds of…jittery right now.”

Peter just nods, his down expression not changing one bit.

He sighs, running a gentle finger across the kid’s scrunched up forehead. “What’s with the face of doom? Sure, the date was a disaster but you did get the bad guy and saved Stark’s tech. I’d call that a win. The date can be salvaged still.”

Peter scoffs, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. _This_ can’t be salvaged either,” he flails his hands around.

“The…infirmary?” his eyebrows fly up.

“I just wanted to help,” he whispers. “Can’t even do that right…”

“What are you talking about? Happy said you saved the day and judging from what I know I’d agree.”

He glances at him for a moment before letting his eyes wander around the white blanket folded on the foot of the bed. “Mister Stark doesn’t.”

Ah. He should have known that’s what this was about. “Nonsense.”

“He doesn’t! He’s mad! And…and…disappointed! In me… _again_ ,” he mumbles, stifling what sounds like a sob.

Stephen closes his eyes for a second, finishes applying the band-aid and puts his awfully shaky hands on the boy’s shoulders. “He’s not mad, Peter, he’s _worried_.”

“Disappointed,” Peter argues.

“I highly doubt that.”

“I messed up! I failed to stop the thieves before and people almost died and…and Mr. Stark took the suit because he - ”

“Because he’s _worried_. Peter,” he puts his unsteady hands on his shoulders, stopping the next self-depreciating sentence coming out from the teen. “Tony doesn’t care about the tech or the thieves, he cares about _you_. And you should be at school with the worst thing on your mind every day being if you passed or failed a test. Not if you will or won’t catch the bad guy of the week!”

“Right…’cause I’m just a kid…”

“A kid that can stop a damn train, yeah. You have your life in front of you, Peter. To learn, to practice…to live. And to make mistakes and stumble…it’s all part of the deal,” he sighs when Peter gives him a tired look. “You’re just going to have to get used to people that care about you going all sorts of nuts when you stumble into danger. Aunt May, Tony…even Happy. He’s all grumpy and nonchalant, but he was worried too. And so was I. That’s just how it goes. So bear with us, eat your burgers, go to sleep and by morning or the next everything’s going to be back to normal. Well…as normal as anything can be when you’re a crime-fighting superhuman teenager,” he winks, squeezing his shoulders before letting go and standing up.

Peter doesn’t look convinced, but that awfully defeated expression is finally gone. “Okay.”

“I mean it, Spiderboy. Nobody’s mad at you…maybe except for that ditched date of yours.”

“Oh no,” he groans and collapses into the pillows, squeezing his eyes shut. “She’s going to hate me.”

“There we go, that’s more like the usual teenage drama.”

“And I’m Spider _man_!”

“And I’m Doctor _Strange_ , as if that ever stopped you from calling me a wizard.”

The pout returns as he squints up at Stephen. “But…you need a made up name! Who uses their own name as their superhero name?!”

“I’m not a superhero, I’m a Sorcerer Supreme.”

“Sure, Supreme Wizard, as you wish,” Happy sneaks into the infirmary, take-out bags in hand.

Peter chuckles, sitting up.

“One of these days, I’m going to drop you into another dimension and forget all about you,” Stephen scoffs, glaring at the security man.

“Great. I could use a vacation,” Happy smirks and looks at Peter. “Let’s go eat in the cafeteria. I got milkshakes, too. Well-deserved.”

“Awesome!” Peter bounces on the bed and jumps off, following Happy out. “Come eat with us Doctor Wizard!”

Maybe he should throw _himself_ into another dimension and forget all about it.

“Later perhaps. Off you go, kid.”

Peter nods leaving the doors open as he runs off to catch up with Happy.

Stephen walks over to the chair he’s made familiar with the last time he’s been here and sits down, resting his head against the wall behind. It’s uncomfortable – the chair, the wall…and he doesn’t mind.

The exhaustion barely went away after the momentary nap he got. Even this chair will do for now when it comes to rest.

For the second time today, someone shakes him awake. He must have dozed off for just a moment because if anything he feels more tired.

“Hey,” Tony whispers from where he’s standing next to him. “You don’t wanna sleep in that chair. Come on,” he nods at the door and walks there.

Stephen yawns, remembering Tony wanted to talk to him before. But he’s just so damn tired. He stands up and follows him anyway.

The halls of the Compound are kind of eerie like this – dark, abandoned, quiet. They pass the cafeteria, hearing Peter and Happy discussing something loud enough to echo in the hallway, but Tony just continues on through the maze of turns and stairs.

Stephen falls in step with him, eying the creepy shadows around them. He’s not one to be paranoid or scared of the dark – especially not in a place like this and especially since he’s become a sorcerer.

Being this worn out makes him uneasy. Even if he’s inside what’s likely the most secure building on the planet next to the Sanctums.

Tony leads him to the east wing where he knows the personal quarters are and comes to a stop.

“You wanted to talk…?” Stephen asks, eyes droopy.

Tony gives him a frown and shakes his head. “Dude, you look like you’re going to fall asleep right here. We can talk later. Now pick a room and go to sleep,” he waves at the row of doors.

“Thank you, but if my services are no longer needed, I will retire back to the Sanctum.”

“Sure. I can call you a taxi, but something tells me you wouldn’t take it.”

“Pfft, I will just port - ”

“I think you’ve used enough magic for today. And by today I mean a week,” he crosses his arms, daring him to argue with a raised eyebrow.

He huffs out a breath, rolling his eyes. “Do you and Wong have some sort of 24/7 gossip line set up?”

Tony grins. “You could say that,” he shrugs. “Seriously now, pick a room and sleep it off. I suggest one of these,” he points at the two doors they’re standing by. “Vision’s over there and he’s got a tendency of floating through the walls of the other rooms instead of using the hallway.”

“Ah. He does the same in the Sanctum too. I got used to it.”

“Good for you. Still freaks me out,” he chuckles. “Thanks…for coming down here, I mean. For Peter.”

“I’m a doctor, I would never - ”

“Stephen? A simple ‘no problem’ will suffice. Go to sleep,” he smiles at him, his hand reaching out to pat his shoulder, fingers curling up in the Cloak’s hem. “You too, Cloakie.”

“He doesn’t sleep.”

“How would you know? You’re asleep,” Tony points out.

“Hm. Almost,” he stifles a yawn and picks one of the suggested rooms.

They part ways with a good night wish and Stephen bee-lines for the bed, dead to the world in seconds.

 

* * *

 

 

When he wakes up from this time undisturbed slumber, he doesn’t need to check the time to know he’s once again overslept for likely an entire day.

Stretching on the bed, he magics his ruffled hair to order and smooths his clothes over, noting the Cloak’s absence. If he were to guess, he’s already causing trouble somewhere around the Compound. Probably scaring the regular employees shitless.

The hallways outside are almost just as empty as they were at night and the few people he meets pay him no extra attention. Just the usual ‘what the fuck is he wearing’ looks.

“Doctor Strange,” a melodic, female voice calls out to him as he’s nearing the main entrance hall. “I was hoping to catch you here before the press conference.”

He turns to inspect the woman and with a couple blinks he realizes he’s in the esteemed presence of one Virginia Potts. He’s never met her before, with how busy she is as CEO of Stark Industries, but both Tony and Rhodey often talk about her in various well-deserved superlatives.

There’s a very professional aura around her, hair pulled into a styled ponytail, clothes perfectly fitted and expression carefully observant. According to Rhodey, one shouldn’t be fooled by her feminine looks and polite smiles.

“ _She can kick your ass with her favorite pair of high heels from here to Kathmandu if you piss her off. Wizard or not_ ,” were the exact words he used.  

“Ms. Potts,” he greets her with a nod, suddenly feeling exposed in the face of her piercing stare.

She approaches him, standing almost taller than him. “Call me Pepper,” she offers a hand and smiles. “As all the Avengers do. The deserving ones anyway,” she adds with a dangerous glint in her sparkling eyes.

“Stephen,” he shakes her hand. “I’m not an Avenger but thank you for the privilege,” he smiles.

“Well, not for a few more days you’re not. Now, about the press conference. Do you have any special wishes? A speech? Special music track upon your entry? Anything goes…heavens know I wouldn’t be surprised. Not after decades of working with Tony Stark.”

“Uhm…press conference?” he frowns.

“Yes, the Monday one? Where you and Peter are going to be…announced as Avengers,” she quickly adds after a pause. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

Where him and Peter are going to be what? “Sorry. I do not. Did you just say _announced as Avengers_?”

She shakes her head with a scoff. “Unbelievable,” she breathes out and whips out her phone. “He said he’s got this, that he will tell you – a week ago! Unbeliev – Tony Stark!” she yells into the phone. “Don’t you dare Pepper-light-of-my-life me!” she turns around and waves at Stephen to follow her as she walks towards the entry hall. “Me and Stephen are in the main hall talking about the press conference. Remember the press conference? He doesn’t and you know why he doesn’t? Because you didn’t tell him anything about it!”

“In his defense,” Stephen takes a few long strides to get ahead of her. “I haven’t been available for the past week and he did try to discuss something with me yesterday before I fell asleep. Twice.”

Pepper’s murderous gaze softens a little – just a little. “Get in here. Now,” she commands and ends the call. “There’s not much to discuss,” she turns to him. “He wants to make an official announcement on Monday about you and Peter joining the team. But…something tells me he didn’t tell you about that particular intent either.”

“I wonder what gives it away, my stunned and confused expression or my stunned and confused expression,” Stephen quips, flinching when the Cloak wraps around him out of nowhere. “Where have you been, weirdo?”

“A flying cloak…figures,” Pepper smirks and before Stephen can argue at all, Tony comes running down the stairs behind them.

“Okay! Before either of you kill me with a shoe or send me to the Dark Dimension, I really didn’t forget about this!” he raises his hands in defense as he comes up to them. “I wanted to tell you last night but - ”

“But I was half-asleep, I understand. What about Peter? Yesterday it sounded like he wasn’t sure about being Spiderman, let alone an Avenger,” he mentions, remembering the somber conversation he had with the spiderling.

Tony sighs and cowers a little under Pepper’s renewed glare. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but then…shit happened and…look. This past week was a damn nightmare, okay? Let’s just…start over. I’ll talk to Peter on Monday.”

“And Stephen?” Pepper gestures at him, eyebrows raised.

“Well…we’re talking now, aren’t we?” Tony smiles and it has zero effect on his former assistant.

“Then continue talking. I have work to do. I’ll see you on Monday. Stephen…Tony,” she gives them both a look and turns to leave.

“So,” Stephen watches her go. “That’s the legendary Pepper Potts. I’m impressed.”

“You and everyone who’s ever met her. I don’t even want to know where I would be without her,” Tony admits. “About the conference…”

“You want me to join the team.”

“You’re already part of the team,” he replies immediately. “Just want to make it official. If…you don’t want to do that, that’s fine. You’re busy with your wizard things, I know and I’m not - ”

“Tony? I’ll see you on Monday. Unless there’s some magical crisis. Again. And tell Pepper I most definitely don’t need a speech nor any music playing upon my entry,” he rolls his eyes.

“You sure? I had ‘A Kind of Magic’ ready for you, just in case,” Tony grins, humming the melody.

“Queen, 1986. Good choice. But no, thanks.”

“Damn. Was perfect – Freddie was an awesome facial hair bro as well.”

“Ugh.”

“What? He was. Speaking of which, you could use a trim.”

“My bad. Next time we’re exorcising demons from haunted objects I will make sure to have spare time to shave.”

“What are you now, Wizard Ghostbusters?”

“I’m leaving now,” he stifles a chuckle and actually turns to walk out of the door instead of just making a portal.

“See you on Monday, Stephen,” Tony calls after him, smile audible in his voice.

He gives him a little wave in synch with the Cloak, not turning around while leaving the Compound with a smile of his own, feeling all rested and ready to take on the world again. Or a press conference.

 

Turns out Peter is the brainiest of them all and totally outsmarts Tony in his own game, thinking the press conference is just a test and deciding he wants to be just a friendly neighborhood Spiderman for the time being.

Stephen can’t stop laughing the entire afternoon even when the engineer sends him angry pouts and glares.

What a week.

~

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm thinking one or two more fics before Infinity War...and the question is, fluff or angst? Because my heart says fluff and my evil mind says angst, mwuhehe XD
> 
> Also...where the hell is the ABO community at? Come on now, IronStrange needs some good ol' ABO fics! ^^ I have a craving, gimme! :D


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